Thursday, April 17, 2008

One Thirty-FiveWatercolor16" x 20"Original is in a private collection. Giclees available.

There are many wee cracker houses in the little town in Florida where I live. Many have been torn down to make room for McMansions, but there are still a number of these wonderful little houses. I am trying to do paintings of them from time to time to preserve the history of what life was like. Recently, there has been an increased interest in tiny homes however. It is my hope that these little cracker houses will be recognized for the treasures that they are.The term, 'cracker' is used locally to denote a person that is a native-born Floridian. It is not considered to be a derogatory term, but rather a term of great respect. Most of the population of Florida consists of people who moved here from other states. Crackers were born here and are proud of that fact. It is said the term originated from the sound of the cattle ranchers' whips crackin' as they moved their herds. I didn't realize that Florida actually has a lot of cattle. It isn't just all orange trees and beaches.